Teens, screens, time pressure and other challenges to navigate on a family road trip

By TRACEE M HERBAUGH If you re going to be road-tripping with your family this summer get ready to embrace unexpected moments of both connection and inevitable chaos Related Articles Map Scenic sites in Hawaii that are now off-limits and why hours kayak fishing at a California lake with a fly rod and a rattlesnake in the boat Voyage How a swanky Bahamas resort was brought back to life USS Midway Museum debuts top secret exhibit on Navy intelligence Best campground in the US according to camping app I discovered both when I packed up the car with my husband and two kids one of them a teenager for the eight-hour drive from Boston to Niagara Falls We had taken long road trips as a family in the past but our kids now and were older My son firmly in his closed-door don t talk to me phase wasn t exactly thrilled about spending over miles trapped in our smallish Nissan Rogue We also live in a part of the country where we don t spend much time in cars in our everyday life How would we all manage the close quarters Here s several of what I learned along with advice from the experts about not only surviving a family road trip but having a good time First why do it A great number of road-trip veterans cite the chance to bond and create family memories Eighteen-year-old Samara Worsham for example spent days bridging states with her family in Now preparing to leave for college she says she cherishes that time on the road There were long stretches with no cellular details leaving us nothing to do but talk she disclosed Along with visiting U S landmarks Worsham s fondest memories include hotel pool swims with her siblings and her father s mission to sample every fast-food chain across the country There are practical advantages to the family car trip too It s more economical than flying especially with a big family says Jamie Davis Smith a lawyer and writer from Washington D C who takes a road trip every year with her husband and children Plus you don t have to rent a car at the destination Get family input on the itinerary Alain Robert founder of The Travelologist a Canadian advance agency recommends including the whole family in planning Ask what they d like to see or do Build around everyone s interests he advised Once you have a backbone itinerary share it and manage expectations My family in particular the kids required to get there as soon as attainable They had their eyes on the destination not the journey Include selected cheesy stops if you can take the time Davis Smith mentioned her family loves to discover quirky roadside attractions on one trip they had fun stopping at the Unclaimed Baggage Center in Scottsboro Alabama a store that sells lost airline luggage Inspired I downloaded the Roadtrippers app and mapped out a scarce detour-worthy stops Our shortlist included the Jell-O Museum in LeRoy New York as well as the Schuyler Mansion of Hamilton fame in Albany New York But best-laid plans We speedily realized that an eight-hour haul didn t leave much wiggle room for exploration Lesson learned Keep daily driving to six hours or less if you want time to explore We didn t have time for either of those two stops Whether you bring your pet or not prepare for extra costs We briefly considered bringing Rosie our -year-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel but the hotel we d booked at Niagara wasn t dog-friendly No friends were available to watch her so at the last minute we boarded her at our vet a first for Rosie We hadn t expected she would need two new vaccines and we had to squeeze in a vet appointment two days before departure This meant a steep bill the morning we left and boarding costs awaiting us when we returned Tour journalist Kelly Burch who road-tripped around the U S for seven months with her husband two kids and senior dog warned that pet policies on the road can be unpredictable One budget hotel near Yellowstone National Park wouldn t even allow their dog to stay in their RV on the property Triple check pet policies she advised Teens Knowing my teenager would need space I splurged on a junior suite He got his own bed slept late and had the space to recharge The suite came with a small kitchen and a breathtaking view of Horseshoe Falls well worth the extra cost for three nights If we d stayed longer I would have reconsidered the splurge But since we saved money by not flying the room felt like a worthwhile tradeoff and screens If your kids are on the younger side divert them with family car games If you start the screen early it can be demanding to convince them to do anything else says freelance journalist Stratton Lawrence who has written for Expedition Leisure about his family road trips without devices He s driven with his young kids and wife from South Carolina to the Pacific Coast twice including one three-month stretch on the road Even older kids he says will appreciate something like a deck of cards or a paper atlas to see the geography If you re going to be in a car for -plus hours the kids aren t going to be entertained watching TV that whole time so you have to have other things he stated Overall I think my teenager thought the trip was OK His friend happened to be visiting Niagara Falls with her family and staying in the same hotel where we stayed That was a welcome surprise He also seemed to like our daytime outings especially the boat ride into the Horseshoe Falls where we got drenched with water I figure if a trip is mostly OK for a teenager it s a success